Hey, who here gets excited about smart lightbulbs? Probably four of you raised your hands, and two of them were me. GE has taken a different approach to selling its new Link connected bulbs, eschewing sales pitches of convenience and connectivity in favor of trotting out a shirtless (and well-preserved) Jeff Goldblum.
The celebrated chaos theoretician is doing what’s known as “acting” in this spot, playing an equally celebrated famous individual whose demanding life is made better thanks to GE’s bulbs, which connect to the new Wink smart home hub developed by Quirky and launched in partnership with Home Depot and a long list of appliance manufacturers.
If the ad feels somewhat comfortable and familiar in addition to odd, it might be because you’re a fan of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, the comedy duo also known as Tim & Eric who created Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Tom Goes to the Mayor and the inimitable Dr. Steve Brule character portrayed by John C. Reilly. They’re the team behind this spot, which shows off their peculiarly angled brand of humor.
Smart home shoppers have been mostly early adopters so far, but this ad now expands the circle of those aware such options exist from just tech enthusiasts, to tech enthusiasts and fans of edgy, off-kilter humor with specific, limited appeal. We’re getting there.